Let's talk Beer, More Specifically let's talk LOCAL Beer...

I just posted about coffee, and now I'll switch to my other favorite beverage (aside from pomegranate juice), beer. Yesterday after work, my co-workers and I met up at the Atlanta Brewing Company (more popularly know as "ABC") for their 6-8PM beer tasting and brewery tour.

Before I begin this review, allow me to shed a bit of light on brewery rivalries in the 404/770 area codes. The two big players in this tale are the Sweet Water Brewing Company in Buckhead and ABC in Northwest Atlanta. Now, according to our tour guide, these two establishments hate one another. Very upsetting for them, but very great for us patrons. Why? Well, we have two awesome breweries to attend that are consistently trying to top one another, thus, they're always improving. I'll be hitting up Sweet Water in the next few weeks, but for now, let's talk ABC:

You may be familiar with ABC based on their Red Brick Ales (which is the name that they sell their brews under) and the Laughing Skull Ale that they supply for the Vortex. For non-Atlanta readers, the Vortex is a burger shop that started in Little Five Points that has fabulous burgers. I'm actually going tonight, so I'll be sure to post my review!

Here's the scoop on ABC:

• LOCATION: ABC is located in an industrial park in NW Atlanta. Not the greatest location if you're used to walking to the places you go out to (I'm a typical city-dweller), but fine if you're coming in from the burbs. Also, it is interesting that there is a brewery amongst otherwise harmless office buildings; it is humorously out of place.
• HOW IT WORKS: You enter ABC, show your ID, get a hand stamp and pay $8.00. They hand you a glass (yours to keep) and four tickets. Each ticket gets you a beer from the tap. So, for $2.00 per beer, you're getting some delicious brews.
• THE ATMOSPHERE: The Atlanta Brewing Company has a front bar room, and a back room with tables that have a factory view. There is a band that plays in the factory, and when the band is between sets, the playlist is perfectly nostalgic (everything from 1997 Mariah Carey to Afroman).
• THE TOUR: The brewmaster discusses the history of the company and the points in the process that hops are added. Although, having just come from work, I couldn't help but contemplate their process inefficiencies, thus, it was a semi-stressful tour. We agreed that it would be just about the coolest senior design project ever for GT Industrial Engineers.
• THE CROWD: Well, it was pretty Lockheed-concentrated (which was so much fun!) --- I think that we brought about twenty people, but the people that weren't in our party seemed to be college aged or young professionals. And, I must mention, I was introduced to many of them at first as they crowded around the bonfire and ate hot dogs in the parking lot. That's right, free hot dogs on your way into ABC!
• MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE BEER: Delicious! I tasted many, but sadly I only used two of my tickets and gave the others away (on account of the driving). I had the Blonde Ale and the Peachtree Pale Ale. Very hoppy, very concentrated, and very much worth a return trip!

The Bottom Line

For way cheaper than any bar, you can start your evening off right (and build your glass collection). I'll be an ABC regular for sure!

With that, I say, Cheers, FRIENDS!

All the best,

Kelly

PS: Someone took pictures last night, so I'll work on procuring our photos and adding to this page shortly!

Kelly

COFFEE: an essential web design tool.

While settling into my new home in Atlanta, I have been plotting the launch of my own version of SK&MS (minus the .blogger.com and minus the form template). It turns out that it takes longer than a few days to make a website, who would have thought? This isn't your standard html coding friends, I demand an amazing site. Thus, you'll have to wait longer for greatness.

That being said, it turns out that in order to program this site, I've needed a LOT of coffee, and have thus been on several coffee shop tours of Atlanta. I am finding that my discovery of new places in the ATL is generally paired with one of two beverages: coffee or beer. Let's focus on the former today. So, what have I been drinking while coding SK&MS version 2.0? Let's see...

Inman Perk

I'm actually here right now! As I avoid the monsoon with my fellow coffee shop rain-bravers (a surprisingly high turn out for the 3 inches of rain forecasted today), I'm drinking a large vanilla latte and catching-up on emails. Here's the scoop on the Inman Perk:

- It has a great name, just at the edge of Inman Park (which is right next to my neighborhood, the Old 4th Ward --- I'll refer to my part of town as "the O4W" from now on, so take note and keep up!) with an appropriate coffee-like twist on it's location.

- Outlets everywhere --- this is a staple of any good coffee shop. I refuse to fight for power.

- Books available for borrowing while patrons sip their javas. A nice touch, but I usually come to coffee places armed with a to do list.

- I'm jamming to an awesome Inman Perk provided playlist --- I've heard Spoon, Regina Spektor, and Matt and Kim in the last half-hour.

- The coffee is strong! I'm pretty sure that my 16 oz latte has three shots of espresso in it right now. I appreciate this at 6PM, but we'll see how I'm doing when I try to go to bed tonight in preparing to wake up at 5AM tomorrow (that's right, I work first shift).

- Plenty of seating and a hip patronage!

So, will this be a regular coffee place? Yes, sir! And, a bonus: I can walk here (but probably not in the rain, I'm parked right across the street currently).

Octane

Karin was in for her first week of work from Pittsburgh on Friday, and before her flight, we met up for coffee at Octane in West Midtown (formerly the Westside). I looked for apartments in West Midtown, and I really liked the area, but I did not like the apartment prices. Thus, my time spent there will be for gallery viewings, eating, and coffee drinking. Octane is my new number one coffee shop in Atlanta, here's why:

- The coffee is simply deliscious. Normally I don't solely love coffee shops for their coffee (I'll be honest, the number of outlets has about the same weight in my mind). But, man, Octane has some deliscious espresso (it's of Pittsburgh's Taza D'oro caliber)!

- Trendy atmosphere with witty staff and a great catch line on their website ("we think it has something to do with the coffee") make this place just as addictive as the coffee they sell.

- I love the O4W, but Octane helps make a compelling argument for W.Midtown as one of the cooler parts of Atlanta

So, will this be a regular coffee place? Heck yes! I need to test out the outlet situation and internet connectivity, and I'm sensing another visit this week...

the Highland Bakery

Be very jealous, I live right next door to the Highland Bakery. That's right, my street consistently smells of fresh bread and pastries, and I'm a quick run in PJ's away from what Urban Spoon deems to be the best coffee in Atlanta.

I visited the Highland Bakery on my first official day as a resident of ATL, and I brought my mom along for the ride. Here's what we found:

- AMAZING, AMAZING fresh breads (and sandwiches that go on them)

- Cool converted factory feel (you know, exposed brick, etc)

- Very good coffee, although I did not get any gourmet drinks

- A down side: it's really loud! I'm going to treat it as a take-out place for my fresh bagel and muffin purchasing needs.

So, will this be a regular coffee place? For to-go purchases, you bet ya!

Looks like I'm 3-for-3 on amazing coffee finds in my new town! More to come with my coffee, beer, and food finds in the 303** zip codes. Be looking for updates to this site, and then updates to the new site (at a time to be announced later)!

Luma Restaurant

Allow me to begin this posting by sharing some drastic (but really exciting!!!) changes that are about to happen in this blogger’s life. First, since my last posting, I have graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, accepted a full time position with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and signed a lease on an apartment in the Old Fourth Ward of Atlanta, GA. That’s right… Sweet-Cakes and Milkshakes is headed down South!

What does this mean for you?

• W ell, it means the next time you’re in Atlanta, you can find some great eats first on this blog. I’m keeping up the tradition, one restaurant per week for my time in Atlanta (at least one year). As we’ve already discovered, one of the best ways to learn about a city is to discover its food. Looks like some sweet tea and southern bbq will be on the menu!
• It also means that you can still come here for Pittsburgh food choices. I’m behind on posting (by about a month, yikes!). But, good news! I have this week off, so I’ll be catching up and filling you in on my last four weeks of Pittsburgh restaurant visits.
• And finally, it means that you can find me at a new address. I’m buying www.sweet-cakesandmilkshakes.com and I’ll be designing my own site, so be looking for this URL to forward you to my new and hipper site!

But for now, allow me to begin that catch-up. Two weeks ago, my co-op co-workers and I met up for a “final hurrah” before graduation. Lunch at Luma (just two hours before a final exam, always the responsible decision).

Luma is a past hangout of my supervisor, who lived in Aspenwall a couple of years ago. I had heard nothing but great things, so, naturally, it was on the list! Luma is located right off of Freeport Road across the Highland Park Bridge (trust me, it’s worth crossing the river). This four roomed establishment includes a bar and a “garden room” – AKA, a room with three walls that are windows. Despite our arrival to what seemed to be a pretty slow day for lunch, we were surprised to find that we needed a reservation (which, thankfully, we had made). Right at noon, the place was filled.

Our meals consisted of a mixture of salads and sandwiches. And, the soups were irrestistable, so we all used some lobster bisque and house soups as a starter. If there is one food that I am over critical of, it is lobster bisque (a few years a go I waited tables at a café that served the best bisque in the South Jersey area). LUMA delivered, I’d say that their bisque was as good if not better than that of my little café’s.

Here are some other highlights of our meals:

• Delicious fresh bread with olive oil – CHECK.
• Unique salads – CHECK.
• And the salmon? Quote all three of my coworkers: “This might be the best prepared salmon that I have ever had” – HIGH PRAISE! All three of them had it paired with a different type of salad. So, well prepared food – CHECK.
• But what if you’re a burger person? Well just ask Andrew, who we all correctly predicted would go with the Chophouse Burger. He loved it (and the side was a healthy fruit salad to help balance out the meal). Classic American food – CHECK.
• And the price? Well, it’s a little pricey. A “special occasion” place would be the way I’d put it.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Venture across that bridge and check out LUMA for a fun gathering with coworkers or a nice date night. LUMA will be on my list for when I’m back in the Burgh to visit “the old stomping grounds!”